


February Words #6: Architecture

by StaringAtTheTwinSuns



Series: February Words (2018) [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Endor, F/M, M/M, Multi, OT3, POV Luke Skywalker, Post-Battle of Endor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 01:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13602675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaringAtTheTwinSuns/pseuds/StaringAtTheTwinSuns
Summary: Architecture (noun) - a unifying or coherent form or structureEndor morning after fic. For the first time in his life, Luke Skywalker has nothing to do. With no farming, piloting, or Jedi student schedule to keep him busy, Luke has no idea where his life goes after the war.Fortunately, Han and Leia are here to lay down some ground rules.





	February Words #6: Architecture

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote a post-Endor fic. I don't think I've done that before. :P
> 
> I realized that I've been favoring Han's and Leia's POVs for this challenge... so this one and #7 are both Luke. I love Luke, but especially post-ROTJ, it's hard sometimes to get into his head!
> 
> You do NOT have to have read the other fics in this series to read this one (or any of them). They're all compliant with one another but stand-alone oneshots!
> 
> No real warnings or anything... a little mild angst and a little fluffy sweetness.
> 
> Not necessarily my headcanon, but includes some elements. ;)
> 
> Shade thrown in the direction of the sequel trilogy probably intended.
> 
> As always, concrit and discussion are welcome. All comments are loved and appreciated. :)

For the first time in his life, Luke Skywalker had nothing to do.

There were no farm chores waiting for him. No plans with Biggs and his friends. His name wasn’t on any Alliance duty roster, and there was no Jedi Master waiting just outside for his student to get up, get ready to train.

The sun shining through the window of the tree hut was too low and too orange for morning. How long had he been sleeping, anyway?

It didn’t really matter. He had no plans.

Luke stretched, and his boots hit the far wall. He’d fallen asleep fully clothed. His entire body ached. That wasn’t really surprising. He was more surprised to be alive.

The hut wasn’t tall enough for Luke to stand up in, so he half-crawled his way to the door. Outside, the Ewoks were cleaning up what was left of the previous night's party. Han, Leia, Lando, Wedge… they were down there too, somewhere.

Luke didn’t try to find them. He felt the Force touch him, but the thought of drawing on it made his stomach turn. It made him remember the way he’d felt when Vader… no. He couldn’t blame Vader for that one. Luke had touched the Dark Side on his own.

Each step down the rope ladder was agony. His back, his shoulders, his arms—everything throbbed. If Leia saw him like this, she’d probably drag him to a med center. But her presence was _there_ , safely far in the depths of the village, as he made his own way slowly through the woods.

There was a stream here, a little burble of cold water that was deep enough to scoop water out of but not really deep enough to bathe in or swim. Luke took his shoes and socks off, stuck his feet into the water. It was freezing. He leaned back on his hands, looked up at the sky, and just focused on the cold.

He wasn’t really sure if he was blinking, or even breathing. His mind was blank. He was numb. From the cold or just… the nothing.

He had no idea where he’d go from here.

Time passed. He didn’t really know how long. He wasn’t even sure if it was nice to feel nothing. Or maybe he was just feeling too much, all at once.

Luke didn’t expect to hear Leia’s voice behind him. Even when he did, when he finally registered that it wasn’t just a dream, all he could do was look up and smile sheepishly. He’d been so lost in… whatever this was, that he hadn’t even heard what she said.

She frowned down at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Luke pulled his feet out of the water, shook his head. “I was just… thinking, I guess.”

Worry creased Leia’s forehead as she shouted back into the forest. “Han! I found him. Over here.”

Luke knew it wasn’t right for his heart to ache like this, when Han appeared out of the forest at Leia’s side. This was how it had to be now. Han and Leia. And Luke, and the water, and the sky.

It had always been the three of them before—two at a time, at first, fumbled kisses and half-drunk confessions. It wasn’t just physical, though. They were a family. And little by little, it had started to be the three of them. It was after Hoth, he guessed, that that had changed.

Leia had told him that she and Han had slept together, on Bespin. It seemed strange now, that Luke had been relieved. He hadn’t wanted it to be him and Han, without Leia. And he hadn’t wanted Leia without Han. It hadn’t really been an issue back then, that he was left out—he’d been in no shape physically or mentally for anything more than innocent kisses on cheeks or foreheads. And it wouldn’t have felt right with Han gone, anyway.

Still, he’d thought that once they got back together, once the war was finally over, once they’d won… He’d thought that, just maybe, there could be a future with all three of them together.

But he was a Jedi now, whatever that meant. And they were… Leia and Han.

“Hey.” Han gave him a shy smirk, and looked down for a second at his shoes.

When he looked up, Luke made a point of meeting his gaze. Being awkward wouldn’t make this any better. He had to give them his blessing, and move on.

“So, me and Leia, we were thinking,” Han said, “that we ought to lay down some ground rules, you know? For how things are gonna be from now on.”

Leia bit her lip. “I told him, Luke. About us. About… our father.”

“That’s fine. I don't mind.”

The answer came too quickly. He meant it, and he didn’t. It was her secret to tell, too, after all.

“And... we talked about it,” Leia went on. “About other things, too. We were up all night, just talking about the future. About what this means for the galaxy. And for us.”

Luke shook his head. “It...it’s fine, really. I don’t… I mean, I’ll be busy, right? Passing on the ways of the Jedi, and all. I’m happy for you,” he said, and tried to stand on shaking legs that burned down to his feet, which were numb.

Leia gave Han a questioning look, and Han stepped forward, offering Luke his hand.

“Rule one,” Han said, pulling Luke to his feet, even though he had to be just as exhausted. “You take care of yourself.”

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Han shook his head.

“No running off without telling me or Leia where you’re going. No freezing yourself to death. Once is enough.”

“I’m not…” Luke began, but his teeth were chattering.

“Yes. You are.” Han pointedly looked at his bare feet, his dripping pants. His ass was wet too, from the grass, and Han gave his hand a pointed look. “Okay if I take this off?”

Luke nodded, and Han peeled off the soaked-through glove.

It was maybe the first time Han had really seen his prosthesis. He’d still been half-blind when they left Tatooine. Luke look a deep breath, steeled himself for an awkward reaction. But Han just brushed his lips against Luke’s knuckles, and said “You get this fixed, okay? And until you do, no water. You’re gonna short circuit or something if you’re not careful. And, uh..." He ruffled Luke's hair. "Maybe find a comb or something, okay?"

He dropped Luke’s hand and turned to Leia. “And you. You may be a big deal in this Rebellion, or... legitimate government or whatever it is now, but you better make time for me and Luke, here. Take care of yourself. Let your hair down more than once every three years. Don’t let politics and war be everything you’ve got.”

“Fine,” Leia answered. “But only if I get some rules too. No running off? That goes double—no, _triple_ —for you, Han. No running off. We’re a family. For good.”

She turned to Luke. “I know this is... a lot to handle. And I don't know what happened on the Death Star. But I need you... to be my brother, Luke.”

Luke’s mouth fell open, but he couldn’t find the words. It wasn't that he _didn't_ want that, it was just...

“Shhh.” Leia pressed a finger to his lips. “I need a brother. But I also… I need you to be more. I’m not really sure how this works.” She gave him a tired smile. “But it works. Somehow. It does.”

“It works,” Luke echoed.

Han nodded. “Yeah. It does.”

A silence fell over the stream and the clearing; just the burble of water remained. Luke suddenly wished he hadn’t taken his shoes off. The sun was going down, the air cool.

“So… I get rules, too, right?” His voice was softer, more hesitant than he intended. “I… don’t really know what happens next. I really only looked as far as… as Vader, and the Emperor. I wasn’t really expecting to live. But I’m glad I did.”

“Han,” he said. “You keep being stubborn. Keep reminding me there’s a world outside the Force and the Jedi. Keep reminding us—me and Leia both—how to live. Really live, you know? Keep the _Falcon_ in the family. Who knows when we’ll need her? And tell me if I get too cocky, okay?

“And Leia.” He turned to her. “My sister… and more. Don’t forget this.” He gestured to the forest around them. “Don’t forget that it’s thanks to your kindness we didn’t become an Ewok feast. Never forget, there’s good in everyone. Even Vader. And... be my first student. I don’t know if I’ll be a good teacher. But you can teach me, too. We’ll learn together.” He looked to Han, including him in this last."

“I came out here… because I don’t know how to live.. after. Everything’s changed. We won, but we lost.”

Leia nodded at this; Han just gave a smirking half smile.

Luke went on: “I don’t really even know who I am now. I don’t know what kind of Jedi I’ll become. But the only rule that really matters is, we do it together….”

It seemed like there ought to be more. Some grand statement. But his voice trailed off.

Han nodded. “We do it together.”

“We do it together.” Leia held out her arms.

And the three of them embraced, as they had a hundred times before. And as they would, a million times to come.


End file.
